User blog:TeeJay87/The M4 Sherman Tank Platoon (UBX69) Review
Recentl y I bought one of the latest sets released by the Battlefront - their M4A1/76 tank platoon https://www.flamesofwar.com/hobby.aspx?art_id=6565. The photo of the set and assembled models prior to marking is in the right. As a gamer, who began his adventure with V3 sets in the advent of the Fourth Edition, I find the older box artworks with paintings more appealing than the currently-sold boxes with photos of the assembled models. On the other hand, the assembly diagrams provided in the rear of the box are quite useful as modelling aid, especially for a beginner modeller. The box indeed contains five sets of sprues with parts for five M4A1 tanks, supplemented by additional five sprues with M4A1/76 parts, one tank commander sprue and a decal sheet, though not the same one as the website claims (see below). The assembly is quite straightforward: *each tank is composed of only 13 mandatory pieces for M4A1/76 or 14 for M4A1, including open/closed commander's hatch options; *the parts fit seamlessly to each other, unlike the T-34 plastic model from the same manufacturer, the nubs on the parts are small and easy to be sanded/trimmed; *the M4A1/76 turret is assembled in the exact same way as in the older M4A3 Sherman plastic model; moreover, the parts for turrets from both sets are interchangeable (my command M4A1/76 has a gun with a muzzle brake from the older set). The tanks can be adorned with additional stowage, including tarpaulin, jerry cans, spare track links, and spare bogie wheels for the VVSS suspension. Each tank model can be built in 10 minutes if you're not planning to paint it. This set has only two flaws: 1) the assembly manual on the box rear does not depict the part joining the gun mantlet with the 75mm gun turret - it has to be glued first to the turret before the mantlet can be fitted, otherwise, the model will look incompleted; 2) the manufacturer in his website promises the new large decal sheet to be included https://www.flamesofwar.com/Portals/0/all_images/american/Decals/US941c.jpg and I got the small 2013-pattern decal sheet as provided in V3 models. The photo in right proves that. The error in the assembly manual is not a bad flaw for an experienced modeller or someone familiar with those sets, but the beginner may be beguiled. I assume the small decal sheet is a marketing ploy, forcing FoW players to buy more stuff to complete their armies. It is also a good reason to scrounge the remnants of unused decal sheets, so you can complete models bought in the future. In spite of those two aforesaid flaws, I find the UBX69 model kit as a good one - since it is apparently released as an expansion for US Army players, it does the trick well when combined with starter sets. It did allow me completing my Sherman tank company, now I have enough tanks to deploy full-strength M4 Sherman tank companies both for Mid-War and for Late-War games. Category:Blog posts Update: the models have been completed, as seen in the photo in the right.